Search age:

Search in:

Nationals seek more help for regional unis

Katina Curtis

Nationals MPs are quietly lobbying Education Minister Christopher Pyne in a bid to ensure regional universities get a fair deal under his higher education reforms.

The move comes as billionaire MP Clive Palmer wrote to the minister outlining the Palmer United Party's opposition to his plans.

Labor has accused rural and regional government MPs of selling out their electorates by passing the universities legislation through the lower house.

But several of them are working behind the scenes to try and get a better deal.

Advertisement

"Policy and reforms are determined in the corridors, not so much in the chamber," Nationals MP Andrew Broad told AAP.

If the status quo remained, "eventually we bleed the regionals to death".

But the reforms need fine-tuning to make sure they work for all parts of Australia, Mr Broad said.

He's been arguing to Mr Pyne that some of the scholarship funds should be pooled and used for regional universities.

Under the legislation, universities that raise fees have to put 20 per cent of any extra cash into scholarships for disadvantaged students, controlled by individual institutions.

Mr Broad is worried regional universities don't have the same capacity as their elite, city-based counterparts to raise scholarship funds.

The Nationals federal council has called for regional universities to be given greater weighting of university scholarships on a needs basis.

But Mr Broad isn't sure the idea is getting much traction with Mr Pyne.

The MP has raised other issues including definitions of disadvantage and regionality for scholarships, financial help for people who must move for university, and excluding lower-income graduates from higher interest rates on student loans.

Another Nationals MP, Darren Chester, used a parliamentary debate this week to note the merit of a funding package to help regional universities provide scholarships.

Federation University vice-chancellor David Battersby believes there is now momentum for such a deal, while Universities Australia is lobbying for a broader adjustment package.

Mr Chester pledged to keep working to ensure regional universities have the opportunity to prosper under the reforms.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie is also working closely with regional universities and Mr Pyne.

But any concessions the Nationals win could be moot, because of PUP opposition.

"Deregulating universities just means they will cost more for all Australians to have a decent education to provide for their families," Mr Palmer said in a statement on Friday.

He has written to Mr Pyne to spell out the Palmer United Party's position.

The minister was unfazed, telling AAP he would continue talking with all Senate crossbenchers about the need for change.